Embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus for dissipating heat and method dissipating heat. Particularly, the embodiments of the invention relate an enhanced thermosiphon device having low thermal resistance because of using novel boiling/condensation structures.
Integrated circuits are used in many devices and their performances are critical to the electronic industry. Integrated circuits are advancing toward miniaturization for more efficient systems. As the integrated circuits get smaller and smaller, the integrated circuit speed, capacity, and performance increases. At the same time, the energy produced by the integrated circuits also increases and more heat is thus generated. The current trend has been to develop apparatuses and methods to dissipate the heat generated by the integrated circuits and cool the integrated circuits to prevent damages and performance failure.
One way to cool integrated circuits is referred to as heat exchange. A conventional heat exchange device used to cool an integrated circuit includes a solid base plate placed on top of the integrated circuit. The base plate is coupled to a set of extended surfaces to increase surface areas for heat to dissipate. Heat generated by the integrated circuit is transferred to the base plate. Heat is then transferred to the extended surfaces. And, air is typically blown through the extended surfaces to dissipate heat.
Additionally, there are two other ways to cool the circuit elements, which employ the principles of a thermosiphon and a heat pipe. In the thermosiphon, a container is provided with liquid coolant in an evaporator section and heat input to this section results in vapor, which condenses in a condenser section where heat is rejected. The thermosiphon relies on external forces, such as gravity, to return the condensate vertically along the sidewalls to the evaporator section. As a result, the thermosiphon is a unidirectional heat transfer device (a thermal diode) limited by orientation.
In the heat pipe, a container is provided with a liquid coolant in an evaporator section and heat input to this section results in the formation of vapor, which condenses in a condenser section where heat is rejected. The heat pipe uses the capillary forces of an internal wick structure to recirculate condensate to the evaporator section.
It is desirable to improve the efficiency of the apparatuses and methods that use heating, condensation and evaporation to cool the integrated circuits.